[Current Affairs] December 25,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for PPSC Test Preparation

2. Court orders release of Daniel Pearl’s kidnapper and alleged killer

What’s going on? A provincial court ordered the release of a man charged for kidnapping and killing 38-year-old American journalist, Daniel Pearl. The Sindh High Court (SHC) said Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-Pakistani, has to be released from govt detention by December 27.

The details: Sheikh and three others were convicted in the kidnapping and murder of Pearl. In April this year, the SHC partially overturned Sheikh’s conviction and death sentence. Initially, he was sentenced to death for both kidnapping and murder. However, the SHC set aside Sheikh’s murder conviction, and said he’s only guilty of kidnapping Pearl. The SHC sentenced him to seven years in prison for kidnapping instead. However, since Sheikh was already in prison for 18 years on death row, the SHC decided he’s already done with his prison sentence. The SHC also acquitted Sheikh’s suspected accomplices, who were sentenced to life in prison.

Tell me more: The court keeps saying it can’t find any evidence linking the four men to Pearl’s murder. In July this year, a govt order said Sheikh and his accomplices have to remain in custody for another three months. The govt basically imposed emergency detention powers. This detention measure was extended after the three-month deadline. Now the SHC is saying ‘enough is enough, this continued detention is illegal.’ Pakistan’s govt and Pearl’s family separately petitioned the Supreme Court to hear an appeal against the SHC’s April decision. The Supreme Court will hear these appeals on January 5.

The context: The gruesome incident took place nearly two decades ago. Pearl was a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal when he died. He was doing research on Pakistani militants when he went missing in Karachi on January 23, 2002. Later on, a video of Pearl being beheaded was sent to the US Consulate General in Karachi and posted on the internet. In 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, told a US military tribunal that he is the one who beheaded Pearl.

The bottom line: The US State Department issued a statement on Thursday, saying it was “deeply concerned about the court’s decision to release multiple terrorists responsible for the murder of Daniel Pearl.” However, Pakistani authorities are trying to fight Sheikh’s release. Pakistan is already under international pressure to crack down on terrorist groups.